Hello, we are the parents of Clément Labarre, a little boy who is now almost 15 months old.
One year ago today, we learned the most difficult news of our lives. One year ago, on July 23rd, we learned that our 4-month-old baby was suffering from an extremely rare and complex congenital heart disease known as Alcapa (1 in 400,000 children), and that he would need open-heart surgery the very next morning. You can imagine our shock since our child was originally hospitalized for bronchiolitis. A year ago today, we had the worst night of our lives. A year ago today, we feared for our child’s life.
Fortunately, the operation went well and less than a month later, we were back home. We got through this difficult stage by remaining a positive team, thanks to the support and encouragement of all the nursing staff, and to the wonderful support provided by the En Coeur Foundation. Thanks to the Foundation, we were able to benefit from meal vouchers during our hospital stay and from the support groups offered during the past year. Thanks to the Foundation, we have also been able to meet a wonderful community of parents in similar situations to ours, and that is priceless. We are extremely grateful for all the support the En Coeur Foundation has given us and look forward to continuing to support and give back to this community.
Today, one year to the day after our little Clément’s diagnosis, he is doing well and is the heart of our home. Other diagnoses have followed since then, and there may still be more to come, but we remain positive and know that the En Coeur Foundation will always be there to support us. Thank you for giving and thank you for supporting all children with heart disease and their families. It is invaluable, believe us.
